Microsoft Lifts The Lid On Windows 8

If you think
about what Microsoft is trying to do with the next version of Windows, it is
pretty radical. Not only is it making it compatible with x86 and ARM
architecture, it is also giving it the largest visual overhaul we have yet
seen.

Microsoft has
finally given us a look at the next version of Windows, tentatively code-named
Windows 8 at the moment. Microsoft will be targeting everything from 7in
tablets to powerhouse desktop PCs with the new OS and it is clear from the start
that the design team has taken a lot of cues from the Windows Phone 7
interface. Starting up the new Windows, you will get a series of tiles, the
same as those seen in WP7, which have replaced the Start menu. This will all be
customisable and each tile represents an app on your system. Apps will be web-connected
and web-powered and built using HTML5 and JavaScript and work alongside traditional Windows programs.

Information from
these apps can be seen in the tiles, including weather, tweets, stocks etc.
Choosing one app takes you to a full-screen version and to switch between apps, a simple
swipe from the left will bring you to your next open app. A swipe from the right
will bring up a menu to let you navigate back to the start screen. The UI is
completely designed around a touch interface and while it will work with a
mouse and keyboard too, it is clear that Microsoft sees touch devices as the
main use for the Windows 8 platform.

Of course one of
the advantages of working on a PC is the ability to do a couple of things at
once and Microsoft has built in a system, called Snap, to allow you to do this.
While you are in one app, swipe from the left until the other app appear and if
you pause for a second, it will snap in place next to the open app. You can
dynamically change which app appears bigger by simply sliding your finger
across. For web browsing, Internet Explorer 10 will come with Windows 8 and has
a “touch-first UI” allowing for easy panning and switching between tabs. One
new innovation from Microsoft comes with the touch keyboard. The guys over at
Redmond noticed that on some tablets typing can mean straining your thumbs to
try and reach the keys at the centre of the keyboard. So Microsoft has come up
with a “thumbs layout” which is more ergonomic and apparently “really natural
to use” by splitting the keyboard in two.

But what of my
existing Windows programs? Well they seem to sit alongside the new Windows 8 apps, and
once open can be used alongside one of the new apps. “The full
capabilities of Windows continue to be available to you, including the Windows
Explorer and Desktop, as does compatibility with all Windows 7 logo PCs,
software and peripherals.” While this is certainly a first-look at what Windows
8 will bring, we are excited about the radical new look. It is a statement to
all the nay-sayers who believe Windows would not work on a touch device –
albeit the platform won’t be available until at least 2012.

On the hardware side of things Steve Ballmer
announced at CES in January that Windows 8 would support ARM-based chips as
well as x86 chips from Intel and AMD. Today Qualcomm is the first to announce details
of its dual- and quad-core chips which will work with Windows 8. First up is
the dual-core MSM8960 Snapdragon, which will have integrated 3G/LTE support
with speeds of up to 2.5GHz possible. This will be followed next year by the
quad-core APQ8064 Snapdragon processor. Fellow ARM-licencees Nvidia and Texas
Instruments will also be bringing out chips for Windows 8, though no details
are available yet.

So there it is
folks, Windows 8, Microsoft’s first touch-enabled UI and we have to say that on
first viewing it is certainly appealling, though whether it will appeal on
non-touch devices we’ll have to wait and see. Microsoft will be giving us a lot
more information at its BUILD developers’ conference in September.